I've wanted to write a blog for a long time. I did start a politically oriented blog, but I only wrote one post because I decided that I wanted to write about a variety of things. One of the things that has been hanging me up about starting a new blog is that I've wanted a fantastic opening post. I still don't have one, so I thought I'd just bite the bullet and start writing about what is on my mind. I was reading a thread on a Catholic website about Catholic education some thoughts came to mind, so here it is...
The gist of the thread was that Catholic education has become too expensive for larger families and it is hard to find orthodox Catholic schools. Yup and yup. My oldest went to a Catholic grade school last year and it was definitely better than the public school he is going to this year, but the tuition was too expensive (I don't think we would have ever been able to afford to send all of our kids there) and I don't feel that they were doing a bang up job of really teaching the faith.
While my oldest is in public school (for reasons I won't go into here), I don't think I will ever put any of my other kids into public schools. My first choice for my children's education would be an academically excellent, orthodox, affordable Catholic school. We don't have a Catholic school in our little valley, so the oldest is in public school and we are homeschooling the younger ones. I think I would always choose homeschooling for the younger grades but would prefer to have a Catholic school available by the time 4th or 5th grade rolls around. Which leads me to daydream... our parish is raising money to build a church (we currently meet in a community center) and there is an option in the plans for the church to have a school. So, if I were involved in starting a new school, what would I want as a Catholic parent?
Academically excellent. I've noticed that most Catholic schools use the same pedagogy as the public schools. Pardon my being blunt. But modern educational methods and materials suck. Have you ever looked at curriculum or read children's books from the nineteenth or early twentieth century? Children were learning in second grade what our current tenth graders are studying. So what would an academically excellent Catholic school look like? Well, there is a Catholic school outside of Albuquerque that I would have been very interested in had we stayed there. They "provide an Ignatian education, with a classical curriculum". You can find other Catholic schools thinking outside the modern box, but I believe they are the exception, not the rule.
Orthodox. I guess we need a definition here. How about "sound or correct in opinion or doctrine, esp. theological or religious doctrine." I'd like to see an emphasis on the sacraments, going to mass and confession, and sacramentals, such as the rosary. I'd like to see a deep Catholic culture and teachers who really live and know their faith and are passionate about passing it on to their students. Families are an ingredient as important as the teachers because with respect to orthodoxy the families are the primary educators. The Church document Declaration on Christian Education states, "since parents have given children their life, they are bound by the most serious obligation to educate their offspring and therefore must be recognized as the primary and principal educators." The schools need to reinforce what is taught at home and provide an authentic Catholic community.
Affordable. This might be the hardest obstacle to overcome given the shortage in vocations and our current political climate. We don't have enough priests and religious to meet the basic sacramental and spiritual needs of the faithful, let alone educate our children. Another reason is the onerous tax burden on the average American family. According to the Tax Foundation, "Tax Freedom Day" in 2009 came on April 13th. That means that a family worked until April 12th to pay all of their share of federal, state and local taxes and fees. Particularly with regard to taxes and education, does it make sense for the federal government to confiscate tax dollars and then dole money out to the states who then dole money out to localities? This is a violation of the principle of subsidiarity. Education should be local and I would argue completely private. This would make education vastly more affordable and would make parents and communities responsible for the quality of education. In a completely private system, charity would take care of the children whose families could not afford education costs.
